People only just realising they lose a bit of their vagina during menopause

It's clear that many of us know far less about our bodies than we thought we knew.

And given the reactions to one viral video in particular, it's clear we're still not totally clued up when it comes to our downstairs area as people are only now just realising they can lose a bit of their vulva during menopause.

Yep, as if hot flushes, night sweats and sleep problems (just to name a few symptoms) weren't enough - we've now got to worry about literal parts of our vulva potentially disappearing.

In just one sentence, Dr Rachel Rubin from Beyond Basics Physical Therapy blew the entire internet's mind.

In a now-viral TikTok video, she explained some extremely little-known facts about the labia - which are the folds of skin around your vaginal opening.

Now, in case you need your secondary school biology refreshing, the labia majora (outer lips) are usually fleshy and covered with pubic hair, while the labia minora (inner lips) are inside your outer lips.

"So these labia minora, when you're a baby, you don't have them, you grow them in puberty, and you lose them in menopause, and that's all we, like, we don't know anything about the labia minora," Dr Rubin explained.

She continued: "Is it oestrogen? Is it testosterone? Can you grow them back? Do you does everybody lose them the same way? No one has even begun digging!"

She added that the only research we have on this specific body part is 'when people want to cut off their labia to look more like porn stars', adding: "Which, don't get me started...

"There is such a lack of research on this part of the body, so we're trying to change all that!"

The video has since clocked up over 1.3 million views with thousands of comments from people clearly absolutely stunned by the news.

One TikTok user wrote: "You LOSE them?! I’m sorry… what?! I’m 41… how much time do I have left with my lips?"

"Me, running to the comments WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOOSE THEM?" a second said, while a third added: "Science education has failed us bc WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOSE THEM???"

A fourth penned: "'You grow them in puberty' just gave me an existential crisis because I sure as hell don't remember them NOT being there?"

"Off to get the hand held mirror usually reserved for plucking my chin hairs…" confessed a fifth as another jokingly asked: "Do they just fall off? Do we get money for them like baby teeth?"

So, what's the actual science behind this medical phenomenon many of us have clearly never even HEARD of?!

Well, Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, explains: "We see an actual thinning and flattening out of the labia minora.

"Over time, some women completely lose their labia minora."

Interlude, which offers specialised care for common menopause and post-menopause concerns, also adds: "Around the time of menopause, your body experiences a drop in estrogen levels which can cause changes to the vagina, bladder, and vulva - and this can include the labia majora and labia minora.

"The labia majora can become dry and wrinkly. The labia minora can lose plumpness and fullness. Sometimes, the labia minora will disappear completely.

"The medical term for this is vaginal atrophy or the genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). GSM is very common - it affects up to 85% of postmenopausal women. Symptoms can begin in your 30s and 40s in the perimenopausal years.

"GSM is chronic and progressive. This means that what might start as an itchy vulva or itchy labia in perimenopause can slowly progress to the point where your labia shrinks and disappears."

Well, I guess you really do learn something new every day.

If you have been affected by the contents of this article, please find more information and support via Menopause Matters on their website, or email [email protected].